news from the garden

May 16, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)18 Comments

Well the arrival of spring might mean that Toby is happier naked but it seems he’s not the only one feeling a bit frisky!

It’s been a while since I mentioned little Herbert/Sherbert Hogwart here and so I’ve been stalking around the garden at night with my camera. Please forgive the quality of the pics – I’m clearly no wildlife photographer, but I did manage to capture some clear evidence that Herbert/Sherbert has a girl/boyfriend!

They’ve been trundling round the garden together for the last few nights. Is it just a childish infatuation (afterall Herbert is not yet a year old) or could we be hearing the patter of tiny feet come autumn? I will keep you posted!

Our garden (although it is only a medium sized suburban one) is quite a haven for wildlife this year. We’re regularly visited by grey squirrels and all manner of birds. We have blackbirds, robins and sparrows nesting and this year we even have a great-tit family in our nestbox. They hatched last sunday and now the parents are frenetically trying to stuff as many grubs and caterpillars into those little gaping beaks!

I love the arrival of spring and that nature is out there, doing it’s thing. Hope you enjoy your patch this weekend!

autism

fighting a loosing battle?

May 12, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)35 Comments

I am not yet winning the battle of the clothes.

I get them on him but within 2 minutes he has flung them all to the four corners of the garden – and he’s becoming quite inventive about places to stuff them so I won’t find them again! It probably doesn’t help that we’re having some lovely warm weather – not the best time for me to be insisting on clothes!

Still, on a positive note at least Toby is now starting his bouncing sessions with some clothes on and my quest to get him to keep them on will continue, although I will definitely focus my efforts on stripping off in inappropriate places and save the garden battle for when the weather turns colder again.

Thanks so much for all of the tips and advice left on the previous post about his stripping off. There were some very useful points raised about keeping his clothing soft and light and having a set of clothes that he associates with wearing in the garden – a bit like a bouncing uniform. All of which are really going to help in my quest. I’m hopeful we’ll get there – one day! Potty training isn’t fairing any better either but we always knew it was going to be a long a slow process for our boy.

His achievements are small and slow but one day I hope to write excitedly here about his first wee on our toilet and maybe even one day in the future I’ll be joyfully telling you about his first ever word.

One day.

Maybe?

Hope is a wonderful thing.

general stuff

Happy Birthday Mum!

May 7, 2008 Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)25 Comments

Quite a few people have asked me recently how my Mum is doing after her awful accident last autumn. Since today is her birthday (Happy Birthday Mum!) I though I’d give you a quick update. She’s now out of her support collar completely and although she still has pain from an incompletely healed vertebrae in her back she is mobile and getting on with some of the activities that she’s always loved like country walks and she’s started driving again. She’s waiting to hear what the specialist advises about the problematic vertebrae and we’ve got our fingers crossed that it will heal without the need for further intervention. She’s been such an inspiration with her determination to recover quickly and I’m so proud that she’s kept going with such a positive attitude!

Anyway Mum, hope you’ve had a lovely day x

Lastly, I couldn’t go without mentioning that the lovely Jenny at Frazzy Dazzles is having a very cute giveaway at the moment

How could anyone not want to snuggle Sugar and Barley? To be in with a
chance, pop over quickly and leave a comment on her post before
Saturday 10pm (EST Australian time)